As someone who’s familiar with both state and Ivy, as both a student and an employer, the variance is most pronounced in the lower quarter than it is in the top quarter. Even the bottom 25% at Harvard are (mostly) competent. With the bottom quarter at a state school, you’ll find some who would have been better off if they had chosen a different path in life. Your job as the employer is to be able to reliably identify that bottom quarter, which isn’t difficult with experience.

I found little practical difference in the top ten percent between an Ivy and a decent state school. In fact, once someone is in the top half, other factors such as organization, drive, and the ability to get along others will dominate. As such, I save money and no longer hire from Ivy’s.